I have always been intrigued by home made pasta. I would often roll some Gnocci or Orchiette quickly and boil it in my tomato soup and have it like a comforting meal for ourselves. We rarely have a pasta meal that has no vegetables even though we like spaghetti carbonara sometimes, the salad is served on the side.

No tutorial for home made Orchiettes here, but I am directing you to some nice videos so you can also make your own fresh hand rolled pasta at home.

Having pasta in a mushy saucy vegetable mix is what I find the most comforting. I just cannot function without my vegetables and often feel deprived when I am traveling. But that is another story. Some travels bring more to the table and it happened in the literal sense couple of months ago when we visited a village and brought back some farm fresh vegetables including a large whole pumpkin.

I usually buy whole but smaller pumpkins and keep using them for months. I hope you know how to keep pumpkin fresh for a couple of months.

Yes pumpkin keeps really well in the fridge. Take care to clean the pumpkin skin thoroughly before you cut it into wedges.You can then cut pumpkin into large wedges or halves, cling wrap and store in the lower compartment for 6 weeks easily. The more mature the pumpkin (with tough skin and orange flesh) the longer it stays good this way.

Now coming to the recipe, I actually started making Orchiette pasta with whole wheat after watching this video, and later moved on to make the same using a mix of millet flours. Making Orchiette this way is a great stress buster if you ask me. I sometimes make Orchiette when I want a break from my work or sometimes even while talking over phone. It doesn't take too long if you have to make Orchiette for just 2 servings.

I add them to my lentil soups, or cook it like Pasta alla Norma, but I have made it with pumpkin many times over. Sometimes a saucy pasta dish or sometimes added to a salad.

Mix everything for the pasta dough and add water slowly to knead a stiff dough. Let it rest for an hour or so.

With greased hands make Orchiette like this video. Do not worry if you cannot make then thin or well shaped, the pasta will be tasty after getting cooked. Store the shaped pasta dusted with flour for a day or two in refrigerator.

Boil with plenty of water with added salt when needed and use immediately.

To prepare the vegetables, cube the pumpkin, dice the carrots, quarter the tomatoes and toss them all with the rest of ingredients. Spread on a baking tray and bake at 160C for about 30 minutes. Watch out the time as it may differ with the size of cut.

You can spread it all on a shallow griddle, cover with a dome shaped lid and let it cook if you don't want to use the oven. I do that sometimes.

Once the pasta is cooked (it may take longer if made thicker), drain most of the water from it, reserving about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid while it is hot. Now dump all the baked vegetables into this cooked pasta with reserved liquid and toss gently. Adjust seasoning and serve right away.

Grate Parmesan over it and enjoy a hot and satisfying meal.

I have cooked this ragi based pasta so much that I even make tubular shaped pasta with it that you might find too thick here. It can be made thick or thin as you wish, follow the above links to see videos.

I do love such warm meals irrespective of the thickness of pasta, it should just be cooked through nicely. 'Al dente' or well done.

I like the nutty taste of whole grains in these pasta so much that I feel something is missing when I eat the regular pasta sometimes.

Try it sometime. Even if it sound the boring sort of healthy you will realize it is a comforting meal that you can make on your own. Replace millets with whole wheat if you wish but do try and make some home made pasta sometimes. Include children in this activity if you have to feed them, they would love to make their own pasta. Working with dough is as therapeutic as working with garden soil.

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About the Blog

Since everyday food is an integral aspect of well being I try and work towards making individuals and
families healthy and happy through this blog. One person's health is magically connected with the
health of the whole family and vice versa. It is not just the food, it is also the way we value ourselves
that decides our health. The most important aspect of health starts from the ingredients and produce
we bring to our kitchen and then comes the cooking part. I believe we must choose our ingredients
wisely, we must eat local produce to get the best of flavours and nutrient profile and we must respect
the seasonal produce for reasons more important than just the taste. Choosing seasonal produce not
only ensures great taste and optimal nourishment, it also helps reduce our carbon footprint. Cooking
everyday food is the other important aspect ensuring health for the whole family, this blog aims to
make each reader getting hooked to cooking. Here I talk about easy fun ways to cook delicious
satisfying meals and to use the inherent wisdom in all of us to make everyday food healthier. All of us
have that inherent wisdom, I try and translate that wisdom through food. Why a bird and an ant knows
what to eat and what to discard and why and how we have forgotten that inherent wisdom, this blog
tries to bring about that awakening for all of us. Personal health always reflects the health of the
planet and vice versa. This blog talks about all this and more.